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According to the author, "A five-month investigation by The Record exposed serious loopholes in local, state and federal housing regulations that thwart the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's goal of neighborhood stabilization of the inner city. The stories document how lax regulations allowed a real estate partnership to buy more than 100 shoddy homes in New Jersey cities, make cosmetic repairs and sell them for 75 to 100 percent profit to first-time homebuyers with taxpayer backed mortgages. Due to this property-flipping scheme, many owners are forced to foreclose because of high repair costs. Because HUD guarantees the mortgages, the federal government ends up paying off the house."